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Monday, February 11, 2013

Blueberry and Meyer Lemon Glazed Donuts

Tomorrow is one of my favorite days of the year. Fat Tuesday, a day dedicated to eating donuts. What's not to like?
There was a time a few years ago when I had regular food truck fantasies. For a while I thought I wanted a gourmet donut truck. Did I write up a business plan, or research purchasing equipment? No, of course not. My research consisted of visiting gourmet donut shops when I traveled. One of my stops was Dynamo Donuts in San Francisco. My favorite donut was Meyer Lemon and Huckleberry. When I returned from San Francisco I wrote a post about my trip and someone suggested I needed to make those donuts and post the recipe. I have been thinking about it for the last couple of years and every time Fat Tuesday rolls around I think about posting them, but then something like French Crullers, or Buttermilk Beignets storms to the top of the list. This year I knew it was time. I replaced the Huckleberry with some Alaska wild blueberries that I had in my freezer. Keep in mind if you use store bought blueberries, you won't get this intense color. They will be more of a blue-grey color instead. The base of the donut is a traditional yeast, raised donut. I thought about adding either blueberry or lemon to the actual donut, but I thought I might like to have a few of the donuts with a more traditional vanilla glaze. One I dipped my finger into the blueberry glaze, I changed my mind pretty quick and made all of them blueberry. You can feel free to mix thing up if you like and experiment with your own flavors of glaze. This recipe is pretty adaptable, so feel free to go with chocolate, plain vanilla, or how about maple? What's your favorite donut? How will you celebrate Fat Tuesday?

DonutsIn a medium bowl, add 2 tablespoons of the yeast and 3/4 cup of the warm milk. Stir to dissolve. Add in 3/4 cup of the flour and mix until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in a warm spot for 30 minutes.Pour the remaining warm milk and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the flour mixture along with the sugar, salt, vanilla, and egg yolks. Mix until smooth. Add 1/2 cup of the remaining flour. Mix on low for about 30 seconds. Add the butter and mix until it becomes incorporated. Switch to the dough hook and add more flour, about 1/4 cup at a time. Knead the dough on medium speed between additions until the dough pulls completely away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should still be slightly sticky. You may have some unused flour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.Start the glaze before rolling out your donuts as the blueberry sauce will need to cool a bit. [recipe below]Line a baking sheet with a lightly floured dish towel. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/2 inch thick. With a doughnut or cookie cutter, cut out 3-inch-diameter rounds with 1-inch-diameter holes. I was able to get 13 donuts, and 18 donut holes.Place the doughnuts at least 1 inch apart on the baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rest in a warm spot to proof until they almost double in size. While the doughnuts are rising, heat a heavy-bottomed pot with at least 2 inches of oil until a deep-fat thermometer registers 360˚F. Carefully place a couple of doughnut holes or doughnuts in the oil, being careful not to crowd the pot. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes per side, until light golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on a wire rack over a paper towel. Repeat with the remaining doughnuts and holes, keeping the temperature consistent. Let donuts cool slightly. Dip the tops of the donuts into the glaze, let any excess glaze drip off, and then transfer them to a wire rack placed on a baking sheet or over a sheet of parchment paper to rest until glaze sets. Serve with a cup of hot coffee.

GlazeAdd blueberries, lemon juice, and lemon zest to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Heat until blueberries pop and release their juices. You can use the back of a spoon to get the blueberries to pop more quickly. Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer set over a measuring cup. Press mixture through strainer with the back of a spoon. Let cool. In a wide, shallow bowl add powdered sugar and about 1/4 cup of the blueberry juice. Whisk to combine. Add more juice or sugar, a little at a time to get your glaze to the right consistency.

I am dying to make homemade donuts. These look just perfect. I have never tried huckleberries - I wonder if I can find frozen ones anywhere. I got some traditional paczki for fat Tuesday but was super disappointed. I'll just have to make my own :)